- As a broad UK guide in 2026, a small, simple premises starts from around £200 to £350, mid-size buildings sit around £350 to £700, and large or complex sites run to £1,000 or more.
- Price is driven by floor area, layout complexity, occupancy and use, number of floors and buildings, and how good your existing fire safety records are.
- A credible quote includes a site visit, a written assessment with an action plan, and a competent, ideally third-party certified, assessor.
- The assessment is a fraction of the cost of the enforcement, insurance and business-continuity consequences of getting fire safety wrong.
Fire Risk Assessment pricing is all over the place, and that confuses people. You can find a sole trader offering a £99 “assessment” and a consultancy quoting four figures for what sounds like the same thing. They are not the same thing. The price is driven by how long a competent person needs to spend understanding your building, and a quote that doesn’t allow for that is buying you a document, not an assessment.
Typical costs in 2026
| Premises | Indicative fee (guide only) |
|---|---|
| Small, simple unit (shop, small office, single floor) | from around £200 to £350 |
| Mid-size premises (multi-floor office, restaurant, small warehouse) | around £350 to £700 |
| Large or complex (hotel, care setting, industrial site, multi-let block) | £700 to £1,500+, quoted on inspection |
These are indicative market ranges, not a quote. Portfolio pricing across several sites is usually lower per premises.
What drives the price
- Size and layout. More floor area, more rooms and more floors mean more to inspect.
- Use and occupancy. Sleeping risk (hotels, care), high occupancy and vulnerable occupants raise the complexity and the standard the assessment must meet.
- Building features. Mezzanines, atria, basements, mixed uses and complex escape routes take longer to assess.
- Existing records. Good plans, previous assessments and maintenance logs speed the job up; none at all slows it down.
- The assessor’s standing. Third-party certified assessors and established consultancies charge more than unaccredited individuals, and for good reason.
What a proper fee should include
A credible Fire Risk Assessment fee covers a physical site visit (not a remote questionnaire), a review of how the premises are managed, a written assessment that records hazards, people at risk, existing controls and a prioritised action plan, and the assessor’s availability to explain the findings. Our guide to what a Fire Risk Assessment includes sets out the full scope. If a quote is vague on any of that, ask.
Why the cheapest quote is a false economy
A very cheap assessment usually means a very short visit, a generic template and no real engagement with your building. The document may satisfy a casual glance, but it will not survive a fire service audit or an insurer’s scrutiny after an incident, and the responsible person, not the assessor, carries the legal consequences. Spending a little more on a competent, certified assessor is the cheapest insurance you will buy this year.
Get Fire Risk Assessment quotes
Compare no-obligation quotes from competent fire risk assessors who cover your area. Takes about a minute.
How to judge competence
Ask whether the assessor or their company is third-party certified, for example under the BAFE SP205 scheme, or registered with a recognised fire-safety professional body. Ask what experience they have with your type of premises, and ask to see a sample report. Clear answers are a good sign; a reluctance to show you a report is not.
How to keep the cost sensible
- Have your information ready: plans, previous assessments, alarm and extinguisher service records, staff numbers.
- Bundle the annual review with extinguisher servicing and alarm maintenance for a single visit.
- Price a portfolio together if you have several sites.
- Get more than one quote. Fees vary and comparing is free.
Getting accurate quotes
Assessors need the premises type, approximate size, number of floors, roughly how many people use it, whether anyone sleeps there, and the postcode. With that, competent assessors who cover your area can quote properly. ComSurv gathers it in about a minute and returns no-obligation quotes to compare.
Sources & further reading
- Fire safety in the workplace: your responsibilities (GOV.UK) — what the assessment must achieve
- BAFE — third-party certification of fire risk assessment providers (SP205)
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — the underlying duty
External links open in a new tab. ComSurv is a matching service, not a firm of surveyors, and is not affiliated with these organisations. This article is general information, not legal, surveying or valuation advice; take advice on your specific situation.
